


Dog Tags

by rainlady



Series: Some Comfort Here [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Implied Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-08
Updated: 2014-09-08
Packaged: 2018-02-16 15:55:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2275722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainlady/pseuds/rainlady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They handed him Steve's dog tags.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dog Tags

**Author's Note:**

> I have tagged this implied character death because it mentions a character being dead however this is going to be part of something larger and lots of stuff in it aren't really what they seem. Including that character death. Still characters think he's dead so I am tagging it as such.

* * *

They handed him Steve's dog tags.

"We regret to inform you that Captain Rogers was killed in the line of duty ..."

Tony blinked at the person speaking to him in open confusion. The words didn't make sense through the sound of blood rushing to his brain. They kept talking but he tuned them out and instead looked down to concentrate on the pieces of metal in his hands. Even they didn't make sense to him.

They were Steve's dog tags. 

Steve never took them off. He wore them when he was fighting, he wore them when he was working out, he wore them when they were at a fancy dress event together, he wore them when he was puttering around the house in just his boxer shorts and a far too tight for his shoulders t-shirt that looked awful and yet completely compelling at the same time. He wore them, covered in sweat and sometimes other things, when they were together in bed. They were his original dog tags from back in the 40's, the ones that had survived years of fighting in World War II. The metal was worn smooth and the lettering was starting to look smudged. The chain they hung on was new but that was only because the old one had broke and Tony had designed him a more heavy duty unbreakable replacement for their first anniversary. The only other thing about them that was not original was the small translucent blue dot in the lower right hand corner of each tag. Tony rubbed his finger against one of them and tried to make sense of what was in his hands.

They were Steve's dog tags. Without a doubt they were Steve's dog tags. But it still made no sense because Steve never took them off. Steve had made it clear that the only way he would take them off was if someone else took them off of him and if he had any say in the matter the only way anyone else would be taking them off of him was if he was...

Tony let out a choked sound. He didn't want to make it. Making it made the situation real. Tony didn't want the situation to be real. It could not be real. The room, that had been filled with murmurs of voices between the other occupants and the person who had given Tony the tags went deadly silent. Tony didn't look up, he couldn't do anything but stare at the pieces of metal in his hands. 

He closed his hand around them trying to hide them from his view. Maybe if he didn't look at them they would cease to exist. He could pretend he was a baby who didn't know any better. That he hadn't yet learned that even if something went away from your vision it was still there just out of sight. His legs began to shake slightly and he knew instinctively that he was going to hit the floor. 

Someone else must have noticed because a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulder and kept him upright. He didn't know who the arms belonged too. Someone not much bigger then himself so it was probably either Clint or Wilson but he didn't look at them. Didn't glance at the arms or the person they were attached to as they moved him away from the man still standing in the center of the room with his pockets filled with dog tags that didn't belong to him and his hollow platitudes and moved him back through the room towards somewhere else. The kitchen perhaps or his bedroom more likely.

He didn't care.

He didn't care about anything but the metal clutched in his hands. He didn't care about anything other then what it meant.

They were Steve's dog tags. Steve never took them off yet there they were clutched in Tony's shaking hand. That meant only one thing. That meant the only important thing in Tony's world at the moment. Maybe the only important thing in Tony's world for the rest of his life.

Steve was gone.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> This is marked as complete however it will most likely be continued at some point. It's part of a series so it will be continued after I get a few more parts of the series out so that this makes more sense in context. Look for the actual first part of this series to be out soon. The series will consist of mostly fluffy slice of life fics this sort of drama is definitely not the norm for it lol.


End file.
